machi 3adil ماشي عادل
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“machi 3adil” (ماشي عادل) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning unfair, inequitable.
Meanings
- unfair, inequitable
Usage
Machi 3adil is a phrase made of the negation machi, used before nouns and adjectives, and the adjective 3adil, "fair, just". It is used for a decision, a division, a ruling, or a person who does not treat others equitably. It agrees in the feminine (machi 3adla) and the plural (machi 3adlin). The register is common but a little formal. In conversation, people more spontaneously say "machi m3qoul" or "hadchi 7ram", "that's not fair". Pitfall: one does not say "ma 3adilch". With an adjective, the negation is formed with machi.
Example
هاد القرار ماشي عادل، كلشي خدم بحال بحال.
had l9arar machi 3adil, kolchi khdem b7al b7al.
“This decision is unfair, everyone worked equally.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “machi 3adil” but also “machi 3adel”, “machi 3aadil” and “mashi 3adil”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.